穀物法

维基百科，自由的百科全书

本條目正在從Corn_Law 翻譯成中文。
歡迎您積極參與翻譯與修訂，目前已翻譯5%。

玉米法是一道於1815年至1846年強制實施的進口關稅，藉以“保護”英國農夫及地主免受來自從生產成本較廉宜的外國所進口的穀物的競爭。要注意的是，在英式英语裡，“玉米”(corn)這個詞語泛指所有穀物，與美式英语專指玉米的意思有所不同。

根據David Cody教授的说法：

“穀物法是用來保護英國地主之利益；其手段為，當穀物價格下降到一定程度時，即鼓勵出口並限制進口。穀物法最終在「反穀物法聯盟」的軍事動亂中被廢除了；此聯盟在一九八三年時於曼徹斯特成立，宣稱穀物法增加了工業生產成本。經過一連串的競爭之後，反穀物法者終於在一八四六年得以遂其心願，這也象徵了英國中產階級在政治權力中一項重要的勝利。”

(中譯本) [谷物法]使穀米的價格跌至低於某一固定水平之時，透過鼓勵出口及限制入口，從而保護英國的地主的利益。They were eventually abolished in the face of militant agitation by the Anti-Corn Law League, formed in Manchester in 1839, which maintained that the laws, which amounted to a subsidy, increased industrial costs. After a lengthy campaign, opponents of the law finally got their way in 1846 - a significant triumph which was indicative of the new political power of the English middle class.

Britain at the time was the most economically developed country in the world — there were no other rivals other than off-land British companies. The "protection" thus was used not against foreign imports, but against cheap rival British imports that would have severely cut into the profit margins of British landowners.

The Corn Laws, in reality, represented the power of the British aristocracy, who were the landowners and therefore the crop producers. A repeal of the Corn Laws would have jeopardized not only the income generated by crops, but also the political power that land ownership had historically represented. The debate over the Corn Laws was a crossroads in the transition of Britain from a feudalist society, to a more modern, industrial one.

[编辑] Debate and Repeal

The debate split Conservatives and Whigs. The Conservatives represented the landed class who greatly benefited from the agricultural protections. The Whigs, however, were business owners. Following David Ricardo's economic views they believed a decrease in the price of grain would allow them to lower wages and increase profits. The Manchester Anti-Corn Law League was formed by men such as Richard Cobden, John Bright, Sir David Roche and Charles Pelham Villiers and they battled for free trade in and out of parliament.

The debate was hastened by the first appearance of the potato blight in Ireland. Sir Robert Peel, Conservative Prime Minister, responded to the crisis by purchasing cheap American wheat and proposing to remove all import duties on grain. It was hoped that these actions would lower the price of bread enough to put it within the reach of the Irish peasantry. By late 1845 Peel had become convinced that the Corn Laws had to be repealed, which put him at odds with a considerable section of his own party. The struggle for repeal began on 22 January 1846, when Benjamin Disraeli, then a rather minor figure, delivered a devastating polemic against Peel, his own party leader. Disraeli, along with Lord George Bentinck, a younger son of the Duke of Portland, led the protectionist wing of the Conservative Party against repeal. Opposing them was an alliance of pro-Peel Conservatives, Whigs, and radicals (Cobden, Bright, and their followers).

The debate, which made Disraeli's reputation, lasted until 16 May, 1846, when the bill to repeal passed by a scant 98 votes. Some twelve days later it cleared the House of Lords. Embittered, Disraeli and Bentinck organized a combination of protectionists, Whigs, Radicals, and Irish members to defeat government's Irish Coercion Bill on 25 June. Peel resigned, the government fell, and the Conservative Party was split in half. Those who sided with Peel became known as Peelites, numbering among them almost every Conservative of ministerial experience (Gladstone, Lord Aberdeen, among others). They eventually combined with the Whigs and Radicals to form the modern Liberal party in the 1860s. Disraeli, along with Lord Stanley, fashioned the modern Conservative party from the remnants of Peel's Conservative Party.

The debate over import duties on corn was left untouched until Joseph Chamberlain's crusade for Imperial Preference in 1903.